Living in Clay City, Kentucky: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.7% below the U.S. average in the parts of Kentucky outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Clay City to say.
A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 3.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Powell County High School, about 3 miles away.
A hospital close byMarcum and Wallace Memorial Hospital in Irvine, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityCincinnati is about 94 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Clay City meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Home prices since then: Up 17%Powell County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $23,816U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $455 a yearKentucky: $1,544
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 85.3U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Kentucky outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Kentucky outside metro areas, not Clay City alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,1742020: 1,192
Median age: 42.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 5%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 0%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (22%); manufacturing (13%)
Work from home: 3%U.S.: 15%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Marcum and Wallace Memorial Hospital, Irvine, KY, about 11 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Saint Joseph Mount Sterling, Mount Sterling, KY, about 15 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Clay City, run by Powell County. The nearest public high school is Powell County High School, about 3 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Kentucky's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 70%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 23°F
July average high: 84°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 13 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 107 a year
Rain and melted snow: 48.5 inches a year
Snow: 6 inches a year
Elevation: 615 feet

Weather stations: Stanton 2W (2 miles away) and Clay City 1 WNW (less than a mile away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Marcum and Wallace Memorial HospitalEmergency room11

Lexington-Fayette, KYCity of 330,00031

Cincinnati, OHMetro of 2.3 million94

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Marcum and Wallace Memorial Hospital, Lexington-Fayette, Cincinnati.

Powell County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

15 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Camp Nelson National Monument36 miles

Read about Clay City's history on Wikipedia.

Know Clay City?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Stanton, KY3,200 people, 4 miles
Jeffersonville, KY2,100 people, 9 miles
Camargo, KY1,100 people, 10 miles
Irvine, KY2,300 people, 12 miles
Mount Sterling, KY7,600 people, 14 miles
Winchester, KY19,500 people, 17 miles

Smaller places

Ravenna, KY555 people, 12 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.